Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To call (troops) together, as for inspection.
  • intransitive verb To cause to come together; gather.
  • intransitive verb To bring into existence or readiness; summon up: synonym: call.
  • intransitive verb To assemble or gather.
  • noun A gathering, especially of troops, for service, inspection, review, or roll call.
  • noun The persons assembled for such a gathering.
  • noun A muster roll.
  • noun A gathering or collection.
  • noun A flock of peacocks.
  • idiom (pass muster) To be judged as acceptable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A show; a review; an exhibition; in modern use, an exhibition in array; array.
  • noun A pattern; a sample.
  • noun A gathering of persons, as of troops for review or inspection, or in demonstration of strength; an assembling in force or in array; an array; an assemblage.
  • noun A register or roll of troops mustered; also, the troops enrolled.
  • noun In hunting, a company or flock of peacocks.
  • . To show; point; exhibit.
  • To bring together into a group or body for inspection, especially with a view to employing in or discharging from military service; in general, to collect, assemble, or array.
  • Synonyms To call together, get together, gather, convene, congregate.
  • To show; appear.
  • To assemble; meet in one place, as soldiers; in general, to collect.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To be gathered together for parade, inspection, exercise, or the like; to come together as parts of a force or body.
  • transitive verb To collect and display; to assemble, as troops for parade, inspection, exercise, or the like.
  • transitive verb Hence: To summon together; to enroll in service; to get together.
  • transitive verb (Mil.) to inspect and enter troops on the muster roll of the army.
  • transitive verb (Mil.) to register them for final payment and discharge.
  • transitive verb to gather up; to succeed in obtaining; to obtain with some effort or difficulty.
  • noun obsolete Something shown for imitation; a pattern.
  • noun obsolete A show; a display.
  • noun An assembling or review of troops, as for parade, verification of numbers, inspection, exercise, or introduction into service.
  • noun The sum total of an army when assembled for review and inspection; the whole number of effective men in an army.
  • noun Any assemblage or display; a gathering.
  • noun a book in which military forces are registered.
  • noun a muster roll.
  • noun (Mil.), [Eng.] one who takes an account of troops, and of their equipment; a mustering officer; an inspector.
  • noun (Mil.) a list or register of all the men in a company, troop, or regiment, present or accounted for on the day of muster.
  • noun to pass through a muster or inspection without censure.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Gathering.
  • noun Showing.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a gathering of military personnel for duty
  • noun compulsory military service
  • verb call to duty, military service, jury duty, etc.
  • verb gather or bring together

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English mustren, from Old French moustrer, from Latin mōnstrāre, to show, from mōnstrum, sign, portent, from monēre, to warn; see men- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English, from Anglo-Norman monstrer, to show etc. and Middle French mostrer, moustrer (whence the noun monstre, which gave the English noun), from Latin mōnstrāre ("to show"), from monere ("to admonish").

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Examples

Comments

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  • I just discovered that this was a collective noun. It made my day. It was from the following quote:

    "Out of the opposition of California and Arizona over a river have come five lawsuits in the United States Supreme Court, a filibuster in the Senate, a muster of troops by Arizona at the California border ..."

    May 1, 2009

  • Hi,

    I notice you have a lot of military examples for the word muster. I suggest adding an example of its use as a verb, referring to gathering the herd, as in sheepdogs. Check the AKC site for herding dogs. It's a good use and would make the examples a little less redundant.

    I like your website!

    November 1, 2009

  • We don't appear to have a pass Stuffie.

    February 12, 2010

  • We muster passed on it.

    February 12, 2010